Critic Reviews
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Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
Visually imaginative and even persuasively spiritual, this animated adventure has some unusually complex villains and heroes, and some of the plot and dialogue transcends what's typical in movies intended for a broad or youthful audience.
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
This blandly conceived and executed attempt at a juve-style Indiana Jones with Jules Verne trappings recycles familiar adventure and cartoon devices with minimal wit and flair.
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
It's probably the most grown-up animated feature Disney has produced, and with its attuned vocal performances, elegant design and pulse-quickening finale, it sets a standard of sustained craftsmanship most live-action film-makers must envy.
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Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com
Atlantis is good, and kids will love it, but it doesn't achieve greatness.
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Rita Kempley, Washington Post
A new-fashioned but old-fangled hash.
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Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
The characters and story are mere narrative lubricant to get us from one digitally goosed sensory assault to the next.
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Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Advertiser
It's too rich with invention and characterization, too packed with juice, and it gallops right along breathlessly. Even so, it manages moments of lyricism and visual elegance.
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David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a passable Disney endeavor that ranks somewhere in the middle of the studio's animation canon.
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, Film4
Disney's animators once again go under the sea, this time to discover the lost city of Atlantis. Shame they didn't find an engaging plot while they were down there.
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Entertaining but intense adventure for tweens and up.
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Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
It is difficult to say whether its greatest failure is in its story, its characters, or its animation.
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Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
A fun action-packed fantasy...
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Kit Bowen, Hollywood.com
By all means bring the kids to this one -- and sit back to enjoy the ride in Adventureland.
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Bob Grimm, Sacramento News & Review
Disney does animated adventure with this colorful, mostly brisk 1914 search for the legendary missing empire.
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Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
When compared to Disney's best animated films, "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" doesn't compare.
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, Empire Magazine
A solid addition to the Disney canon. But from the directors of Beauty And The Beast, solid ain't good enough. Classic Disney this is not.
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Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
After seeing spectacular epics like Tarzan, it is difficult to properly appreciate the mediocre, but entertaining Atlantis.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The potency of the Disney brand name will be tested with Atlantis, a peculiar animated feature that has no children in its story, no cute creatures, and no musical or dance numbers. Any reason for the family to go?
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, Film Threat
Poor Disney, they now have a real competitor in the family film business and it's a big, green oaf from Dreamworks.
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Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
... breathtaking animation in service of a story that doesn't hold enough water to drown a rat much less a civilization.
Read all 21 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Very disappointed with this film. I felt like I was watching a kids film trying to become a live action picture and failing miserably. It is far too smart for it's own good and the adult humour doesn't suit the tone of the film very well. I am definitely a sucker for… More
Very disappointed with this film. I felt like I was watching a kids film trying to become a live action picture and failing miserably. It is far too smart for it's own good and the adult humour doesn't suit the tone of the film very well. I am definitely a sucker for fantasy/adventure films, and the story behind this film definitely has some interesting details and the visuals are great when they finally arrive at the Lost City, but other than that, I wished it would just end. It's definitely not an easy film to watch, and quite frankly, I was more annoyed watching it than anything. It felt like the same thing over and over again. The voice acting even felt a little off to me. Overall, it was an unpleasant film to watch!
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Atlantis is waiting...
Good Movie! Atlantis has some comic scenes that made me laugh. Other scenes made me sad. And others made me glad. It is a movie any age can enjoy. It was an excellent rendition of an ancient myth. The animation was somewhat odd, but nothing new from Disney. It… More
Atlantis is waiting...
Good Movie! Atlantis has some comic scenes that made me laugh. Other scenes made me sad. And others made me glad. It is a movie any age can enjoy. It was an excellent rendition of an ancient myth. The animation was somewhat odd, but nothing new from Disney. It was definitely better than expected for a Disney movie with no singing. The background animation was magical. It was a different level of work for the Disney people. Some of the characters were a little boxy, but it was more than made up for with the beauty and lushness of the scenery. The music was largely instrumental but that was perfect for the movie.
1914: Milo Thatch, grandson of the great Thaddeus Thatch works in the boiler room of a museum. He knows that Atlantis was real, and he can get there if he has the mysterious Shephards journal, which can guide him to Atlantis. But he needs someone to fund a voyage. His employer thinks he's dotty, and refuses to fund any crazy idea. He returns home to his apartment and finds a woman there. She takes him to Preston B. Whitmore, an old friend of his Grandfathers. He gives him the shepherds journal, a submarine and a 5 star crew. They travel through the Atlantic ocean, face a large lobster called the Leviathan, and finally get to Atlantis. But does the Atlantis crew have a lust for discovery, or something else?
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A pretty good film considering it wasn't advertised as much as other children's animations. The narrative was well formed even though it was quite predictable.
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Atlantis The Lost empire is one of the most beautiful animated films of all time, and one of the most fun Disney films ever made. the plot was surprisingly great, it took one of the greatest legends and made a great story that kids and adults will find interesting. The voice acting… More
Atlantis The Lost empire is one of the most beautiful animated films of all time, and one of the most fun Disney films ever made. the plot was surprisingly great, it took one of the greatest legends and made a great story that kids and adults will find interesting. The voice acting is great, and their charaters are all fun, but the protagonist was too wimpy for me, he is not a hero if he is a big loser, but Micheal J Fox was perfect to voice him. The animation was truly incredible, it looked so great and it was probably the most amazing thing about the film, even though the story was still great. Atlantis is one film Disney can never ruin, even with all the sequels, it remains an orginal and great film.
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Every one of Disney's animated films are all fantastic in the art style because each film the art style changes from every film, and the visuals are by far the best things about this film. See this film on a big screen with a good sound system, or, It was best in the theater. The… More
Every one of Disney's animated films are all fantastic in the art style because each film the art style changes from every film, and the visuals are by far the best things about this film. See this film on a big screen with a good sound system, or, It was best in the theater. The scene with the giant crustacean robot chasing the big ship and small ships underwater, and it still is fantastic to watch. The cast is also not very bad in this film either, Michael J. Fox does fantastic as Milo in this movie, and also Tommy Lee Jones as the general (of course) and the sub characters all do well, including the late Jim Varney, and Leonard Nimoy.
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I'm a little bewildered that critics gave Atlantis such a hard time. I guess that's what Disney gets for not following it's formula of boring, pretentious romance/melodrama, overplayed emotional intimacy, periodic sing-song and campy villains.
Maybe it's the… More
I'm a little bewildered that critics gave Atlantis such a hard time. I guess that's what Disney gets for not following it's formula of boring, pretentious romance/melodrama, overplayed emotional intimacy, periodic sing-song and campy villains.
Maybe it's the apparent change in demographic? This was obviously made for young adults, half of the jokes and themes presented would fly right by a kid's head.
There's so much wit and personality in the dialogue/characters that really makes this generic fantasy-adventure entertain. Not to mention the phenomenal animation and art direction that accompany it.
All this talk about
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this was a waste of my time. D
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Atlanti - The Lost Empire is very unique movie. Not a typicall disney Movie. It has tiny bit of everything. Friendship, Betrayel, Love, Adventure and Magic.
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Another highlight from the late animated Disney phase with somewhat more grown up themes, here an exciting mix of Jules Verne and Indiana Jones motives. There is still plenty of humor and quirky characters for the kids, but also a lot of action and probably the highest body count in a… More
Another highlight from the late animated Disney phase with somewhat more grown up themes, here an exciting mix of Jules Verne and Indiana Jones motives. There is still plenty of humor and quirky characters for the kids, but also a lot of action and probably the highest body count in a Disney film. It starts with quite a bang and keeps a decent pace, introducing plenty of interesting characters. Although it all gets a tad too esoteric in the second half, the excellent showdown makes up for it and leaves the audience pretty satisfied. The younger kids should stay away but for the right age this is a great adventure to remember and talk about for a very long time. As for me, I don't miss singing dancing animals or inventory pieces, so this is my kinda animated film.
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pretty fun movie. i didnt think i would like this film but i did, definitely worth the watch.
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Really good family movie with a few funny scenes here and there
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Visually intelligent, but doesn't offer much in any other department.
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Nice idea but felt a little rushed.
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its good, different to other disney movies, not as funny, the animation is good and I also like the voices
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[font=Arial][color=darkred]A joke me and my friend Adam had going in a script we never started was about an elite tactical force known as the Superhuman Samurai Stereotype Squad. They were a group contained of all different minority killers but each was a bad stereotype of that… More
[font=Arial][color=darkred]A joke me and my friend Adam had going in a script we never started was about an elite tactical force known as the Superhuman Samurai Stereotype Squad. They were a group contained of all different minority killers but each was a bad stereotype of that minority - like the black man was a gangster rapper with one incredible fro, the Asian was a martial arts expert, the gay person was flaming etc. (this is not an example of how I feel toward minorities, just lampooning the stereotypes). So imagine my surprise when watching Disney's 'Atlantis' I see our joke played out in front of me - except it's supposed to be taken seriously.[/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]Nerdy historian and dreamer Milo (Michael J. Fox) gets teamed up with a ragtag group on an exploration to hunt for the missing land of Atlantis with the aid of a book his grandfather gave to him. Anyone else getting 'Indianna Jones and the Last Crusade' déjà vu? This group features a tough blonde German girl Helga, a latina mechanic who also happens to be a boxer, a crazy and dirty Frenchman, a kindly heroic black doctor that resembles Disney's own John Henry, a loveably kooky Southerner cook, an old no-nonsense woman, and even a quirky Italian explosives expert. Assemble Superhuman Samurai Stereotype Squad![/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]Through some underwater mishaps the crew finally does get to the fabled city of Atlantis and is met by the King and Princess Kida, who takes a shine to clumsy Milo. They discover secrets of the lost civilization and, as always, members of the crew turn on each other in an attempt to plunder the city of its riches. The double-dealing is led by the ship's captain Lyle Tiberius Rourke (James Garner) who has a chin that would make Kirk Douglas drop dead with envy.[/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]There are plot holes in 'Atlantis' big enough to build a Disney theme ride through. It turns out as revealed in the opening minutes of 'Atlantis' that the Atlantians had mastered the technology of flight, mechanics, energy fusion, and other such scientific marvels. A race of people before even the Minoans around 800 BC had mastered the art of mechanical flight? And WE don't even have flying cars yet but these people 2800 years ago had flying fish made with metals that they had no way of getting their hands upon? Or take for example the fact that Princess Kida greets the group in English, saying that they somehow know all languages. But if their civilization was plunged to the bottom of the sea a freaking 2800 years ago how can they remotely know languages that never existed until hundreds and hundreds of years afterwards?[/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]Want more plot holes? Please, you know you do. How about when a character hurtles to their supposed death when they fall something like 250 feet down onto hard rock. Except later we return to this fallen character who still manages not only to live but also to turn around and fire one last perfect shot. There are so many others that they can't all fully be mentioned.[/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]'Atlantis' is supposed to be like one of the old 50s adventure films like '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' except it never manages to be adventurous at all. The film does allow for people to actually die, though all off camera, which I can't remember happening in a Disney picture unless it was the villain. There are some moments of excitement (a first for Disney since possibly 'Aladdin') but they end too quickly and give the audience back to the characters and story it doesn't want to return to. The animation is surprisingly sub-par with a few awkward moments that seem very rigid and static.[/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]'Atlantis' is a general waste of talent and strung together with a laughably bad script. The fact that not one kid in the audience, nor myself, laughed once in indicative of how this movie is flopping. The movie is not engaging for kids and the opening sequence with subtitles will surely go over their heads. This film is not a fun ride. It seems like the profitable-yet-creatively-stagnant Disney formula for the last decade is finally imploding. If you do have a choice go see 'Shrek' instead.[/color][/font]
[font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: C[/color][/font]
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Atlantis The Lost empire is one of the most beautiful animated films of all time, and one of the most fun Disney films ever made. the plot was surprisingly great, it took one of the greatest legends and made a great story that kids and adults will find interesting. The voice acting… More
Atlantis The Lost empire is one of the most beautiful animated films of all time, and one of the most fun Disney films ever made. the plot was surprisingly great, it took one of the greatest legends and made a great story that kids and adults will find interesting. The voice acting is great, and their charaters are all fun, but the protagonist was too wimpy for me, he is not a hero if he is a big loser, but Micheal J Fox was perfect to voice him. The animation was truly incredible, it looked so great and it was probably the most amazing thing about the film, even though the story was still great. Atlantis is one film Disney can never ruin, even with all the sequels, it remains an orginal and great film.
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4th of the Competition Era
Very stylistic animation provided by Mike Mignola (Creator of the Hellboy comics for those who don't know.) grace the film. It looks great, dark yet fun and adventurous. The coloring here matches with the films tone making the animation really work… More
4th of the Competition Era
Very stylistic animation provided by Mike Mignola (Creator of the Hellboy comics for those who don't know.) grace the film. It looks great, dark yet fun and adventurous. The coloring here matches with the films tone making the animation really work to the films advantage. Even the cg meshes well with the characters and locations making for a film that's great to look at.
"Atlantis" provides some great characters who are hilarious as they are lovable. Led by Milo Thatch, voiced greatly by Michael J. Fox, a fun cast of characters venture to the lost empire while providing entertaining moments with some good quotes. Commander Rourke the villain of the film has some good lines provided by James Garner, though he doesn't stand out much, still he's a serviceable villain for the film. The Atlanteans are voiced well enough, including Leonard Nimoy as the king and Cree Summer as the princess.
The film provides a good story, the premise is put to good use for the film. It works so well, it really makes one care for what happens to the characters. The biggest fault though is in the last act, granted it wasn't the worst way for the film to go is just that it's really poorly executed. Some of the supporting cast gets a little too out of character towards the end, it's minor but noticeable bump in the story.
"Atlantis-The Lost Empire" is an underrated film that deserves more credit.
Up Next:A movie featuring- Hey! get out of those Renaissance movies you don't belong there! Great he got Jasmine to join his mayhem.
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Though there is some riveting action scenes and nice animation, almost nothing is coherent in this confusing and character stuffed snooze-fest. Atlantis definetly falls near the bottom of Disney's film catalogue. Overall Rating: 46
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The list of Disney films between Tarzan (1999) and The Princess and the Frog (2009) consists of some of the studios least loved works and biggest critical and commercial disappointments of their storied history; Atlantis - The Lost Empire is no exception. Despite how many poor… More
The list of Disney films between Tarzan (1999) and The Princess and the Frog (2009) consists of some of the studios least loved works and biggest critical and commercial disappointments of their storied history; Atlantis - The Lost Empire is no exception. Despite how many poor quality products that were produced during this time period I give Disney credit for being very creative and original in their film choices. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, etc. were all basically the same formula with different characters/settings. There is hardly any comparable elements between Dinosaur, Atlantis, Treasure Island, The Emperor's New Groove, etc. Unfortunately as the creativity expanded in Disney the writing weakened and that is easily Atlantis's biggest draw back. An original story with an action oriented pace the film forgets to develop memorable characters or a coherent screenplay. The visuals almost warrant a nice-try rating but Atlantis really flounders in just about every other area.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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